The impact of the financial crisis on insider trading profitability in Belgium

The 2007 global financial crisis led to a chaotic financial environment characterized by highly uncertain and volatile stock markets. This created additional uncertainty about the fundamental value of shares and potentially increased the benefit of inside information. In this paper, we use event stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Debby Van Geyt, Philippe Van Cauwenberge, Heidi Vander Bauwhede
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University 2013-05-01
Series:Journal of Business Economics and Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.vgtu.lt/index.php/JBEM/article/view/3719
Description
Summary:The 2007 global financial crisis led to a chaotic financial environment characterized by highly uncertain and volatile stock markets. This created additional uncertainty about the fundamental value of shares and potentially increased the benefit of inside information. In this paper, we use event study methodology to examine whether Belgian corporate insiders were able to benefit from these turbulent market conditions. Given the large weight of financial institutions, the Belgian stock market was especially vulnerable to the financial crisis and provides an interesting environment to test this hypothesis. Our results show that, while insiders are generally able to earn abnormal returns, these returns are significantly higher during the years of the financial crisis. First published online: 19 Oct 2012
ISSN:1611-1699
2029-4433